Delicious Homemade Bread in the Air Fryer

Yes, you read that right. Air. Fryer. Bread. Bread in the air fryer. We are NEXT LEVEL today.

So…over winter break I ended up not having a functional stove or oven for almost two weeks. That would be frustrating under normal circumstances, but that’s a time of year I have more time to bake and love trying new recipes, and I also had family staying with me. So I decided that I was going to make the most of my small kitchen appliances to get really creative.

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My mom is obsessed with bread, and an air fryer is basically a tiny convection oven, so I decided to start there (I also made this amazing air fryer basque cheesecake). Recipe-wise, this air fryer bread isn’t anything special…it’s really the most basic bread recipe proportions and ingredients. But you will have to figure out what size is feasible within your air fryer’s basket.

The other thing you’ll need to watch is the amount of flour you use, and the texture of your dough. I’ve made this several times now and each time I had to make some adjustments—mostly due to humidity level from what I can tell, as well as the exact type of flour.

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Overall, I strongly encourage you to use bread flour if possible. I’ve had the most consistently perfect results from it. Regular all-purpose and white whole wheat (or a blend) are fine, but the texture will be a bit different.

I have mostly switched to using this amazing Sunrise Mills flour, which farms and mills organic heritage grains that are easier to digest and chemical-free. Many people who can’t eat gluten normally do well with this flour, and I’ve definitely found that to be true myself. They have a few products on Amazon, but I usually buy directly from them where they have a whole array (including pastas!).

What I recommend (and have noted in the recipe instructions) is to start to 1/2 cup LESS of flour than the recipe calls for and see how wet the dough is, and then add more flour if needed. A wetter dough yields a better rise and better texture in my experience.

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Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and sugar and give it a quick stir. Leave for 5 minutes to make sure the yeast starts to get a tiny bit foamy (just showing it’s not dead).

Add in the flour and salt and stir until a shaggy, sticky dough is formed.

Ideally you want it to not be somewhat wet, or at least not too dry. The first pic below is perfect. The second is too dry but it still turned out well (just not as well as the first pic loaf).

You don’t have to knead this dough, but can do a few “stretch and folds” if you feel like it. Grab it at the edge, stretch up, and fold it into the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter-turn and do the same thing a few times.

Cover with plastic wrap (or a clean towel, but I prefer a tight seal over the bowl) and place somewhere warm to rise for an hour (ideally a bit longer if you have the time). You want it to double and get jiggly and bubbly.

Once it’s risen, it should look a lot like this. Tip the dough onto a lightly-floured counter.

Gently stretch into a rectangle and fold in thirds like a letter, then roll up the ends and use you hands to gently shape it into a ball or oval shape. Add a bit more flour if needed but try not to add too much.

Place it on a small piece of parchment paper.  Cover loosely and leave to rise for a half hour.

Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (200°C, usually the highest it goes) for five minutes. Score the top of the bread with a knife or lame. A simple big “X” is perfect. Be careful not to deflate or smoosh the dough.

Gently transfer the parchment paper to the air fryer and cook for around 10 minutes at 400°F. Then lower the heat to 350°F (180°C) and continue to cook for 20-25 minutes.  The length will very much depend on the size of loaf as well. If you have one bigger loaf it’ll be longer, but I’ve also done this as three tiny loaves so those don’t need as long.

If possible, for the last 5 minutes, turn the loaf over so that the bottom is facing up toward the heating element for the last 5 minutes. Check the temperature inside the loaf to make sure it’s done, it should be around 210 F and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Remove from the air fryer and place on a rack to cool. Wait to slice until the temperature has reached around 80 F inside.

It will be quite dark and may look a bit scorched on top…don’t worry too much about that, it will soften as it cools.

Enjoy your delicious air fryer bread! It’s obviously best the day-of, but if you need it to last longer I’ve found hte best way to store is either loosely wrapped in a kitchen towel (for a day or so), or sliced and put between parchment paper in a ziploc in the freezer.

To refresh it from the freezer, sprinkle a bit of water on it and wrap in foil, and put in the air fryer for a few minutes. Like new!

Realizing you can make amazing fresh bread in the air fryer is a total gamechanger.

While I now have a functioning oven again, I still am making this air fryer bread often, as it’s so easy and makes a nice small loaf that’s perfect for one person. No faffing about with the oven, just one little appliance going!

Other easy bread recipes you’ll love:

• The Easiest, Best Focaccia Bread Ever
• A Traditional Challah Bread (& 4-Strand Braided Round)
• The Best Grilled Pizza Dough (and It’s Super Easy!)
• Rosemary Olive Oil Bread With Sea Salt
• Easy Drop Biscuits from Outlander Kitchen

Adapted slightly from Super Golden Bake

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